2024-01-12 17:21

Previous landmark events such as Coinbase's stock exchange listing and ProShares' futures-based bitcoin ETF debut happened near market tops. Bitcoin tumbled below $42,000 in a Friday sell-off with cryptocurrency-focused stocks plummeting as Thursday's bitcoin ETF euphoria turned into a market rout. The $42,000 level is a significant support where prices may bounce from with potential buyers stepping in, crypto research firm Swissblock said. Bitcoin (BTC) dropped below $42,000 on Friday, plunging almost 10%, as the euphoria over the bitcoin ETFs approved this week gave way to a massive rout. Bitcoin had been as high as $46,000 earlier Friday and surged to a two-year high of $49,000 on Thursday, when bitcoin ETFs began trading in the U.S. But the heady prices didn't last long. Shares of Coinbase (COIN), the crypto exchange that provides vital custody services to most of the ETF issuers, lost 7.4% on Friday. Bitcoin miners Marathon Digital (MARA), Hut 8 (HUT) and Riot Platforms (RIOT) all sank at least 10%; Marathon fared worst, slumping 15%. The declines happened a day after spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) began trading, marking a significant milestone for the industry. Bitcoin ETFs are traditional financial vehicles that may give retail and institutional investors alike easier exposure to bitcoin's price. Friday's price declines may not be a surprise; research firm CryptoQuant predicted last month that bitcoin would fall to as low as $32,000 in the next month after an ETF approval, being a "sell the news" event. Notably, previous landmark events such as Coinbase's stock market listing in April 2021 and ProShares' futures-based bitcoin ETF (BITO) debut in October 2021 happened near a significant peak in crypto prices, possibly foreshadowing cooling prices ahead. What's next for bitcoin price Bitcoin posted a massive 80% rally since early October without significant pullbacks to a hit a two-year high as anticipation increased to a fever pitch into Thursday's spot bitcoin ETF launch, a significant milestone for the digital asset industry that expands investor access to the largest crypto asset. Crypto research firm Swissblock noted in a Friday market report that the last leg of the bitcoin rally to $49,000 into Thursday's bitcoin ETF launch showed signs of running out of fuel, with sellers stepping in above the $47,500 price level. "The recent dynamics in bitcoin have not lived up to the expectations set by many bitcoin maximalists, with the asset failing to break the $50k mark, and the hype surrounding ETFs showing signs of cooling down," Swissblock analysts wrote. "The critical question now is whether the market can sustain upward momentum." The $42,000 price level forms a significant liquidity zone where bitcoin may bounce from as buyers might enter the market, the report explained. If this support level falters, the next key zone to watch is the "CME gap" at $40,000, it added. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/01/12/btc-tumbles-below-44k-bitcoin-miners-drop-10-boosting-etf-sell-the-news-calls/

2024-01-12 15:54

BlackRock's IBIT saw the third-biggest inflow, though the data might be incomplete, analysts pointed out. Initial data shows Bitwise's bitcoin ETF (BITB) saw the biggest inflow of cash among the newly issued products that began trading Thursday, followed by Fidelity's fund (FBTC), according to a BitMex Research X post citing Bloomberg data. Most issuers shared only preliminary data about inflows until Friday's market opening and there might be further delays until Friday evening, Eric Balchunas, ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, noted in an X post. James Butterfill, head of research at digital asset manager CoinShares, said in an email that the full picture might not materialize until early next week. For full coverage of bitcoin ETFs, click here. Bitwise's BITB hauled in $238 million in net assets on the first day. Fidelity's FBTC received $227 million. Grayscale's GBTC, which operated as a closed-end fund without allowing redemptions until Thursday, saw $95 million in outflows, less than some observers anticipated. BlackRock's IBIT, widely expected to be a – if not the – top contender among the newly issued ETFs given the asset manager's clout and size, attracted $110 million of inflows. On Thursday, it had the second-highest first-day trading volume among bitcoin ETFs. However, IBIT held $120 million in bitcoin (BTC) with an additional $112 million in cash as of Thursday, according to the fund's website. Balchunas noted that part of Thursday's inflow might appear in Friday's data. Spot bitcoin ETFs concluded a massive first day in trading volume, recording $4.6 billion daily volume combined with Grayscale's GBTC and BlackRock's IBIT leading, according to data posted on X by Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart. "Easily the biggest Day One splash in ETF history," Eric Balchunas, ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, commented in an X post. In comparison, ProShares' futures-based bitcoin ETF (BITO) hauled in $570 million inflows with $1 billion trading volume on its first day in October 2021, launched near the crypto bull market top. BITO experienced outflows of 3,000 BTC worth roughly $140 million on Thursday as investors likely moved some funds to more user-friendly spot-based ETFs, but the fund's assets were still up through this week, K33 Research data shared with CoinDesk. Thursday's debut of spot bitcoin ETFs was widely seen as a significant milestone for the digital asset industry as they offer exposure to the largest and oldest cryptocurrency in a format more easily accessed through conventional financial channels, making it easier for mainstream investors to invest in bitcoin. Industry watchers were expecting billions of dollars of new money finding a way to bitcoin through these products over time. Standard Chartered analysts forecasted that spot ETFs may see $50 billion to $100 billion inflows this year. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/01/12/bitwise-fidelity-blackrock-see-biggest-bitcoin-etf-inflow-in-preliminary-tally/

2024-01-12 15:50

The "NFTs on Bitcoin" project has capitalized on the popularity of the controversial Ordinals protocol, which has generated a flurry of interest in the original blockchain but added to congestion and higher fees. Taproot Wizards, which capitalized on last year's frenzy in Bitcoin Ordinals inscriptions to raise $7.5 million, is now moving forward with its first sale of a collection, Quantum Cats. The series includes 3,333 of the cats, designed to honor a Bitcoin improvement proposal known as OP_CAT, according to a press release. Ordinals inscriptions, sometimes known as "NFTs on Bitcoin," became so popular after their invention by Casey Rodarmor that transactional activity related to their minting created congestion on the Bitcoin blockchain, driving up fees. Some longtime Bitcoin contributors have proposed various measures to block them, arguing that the network should be preserved for payments, though other voices have likened these efforts to censorship. Bitcoin miners have reaped a windfall from the fee bonanza. Three images of a "BitcoinShrooms" collection recently sold at the venerable auction house Sotheby's for about $450,000. Taproot Wizards was started by Udi Wertheimer and Eric Wall, who each have at least 100,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter). Dan Held, fractional CMO for Taproot Wizards, told CoinDesk in an email that this is the first sale of a collection by the company. The first collection minted was Taproot Wizards, but those have not been put up for sale. https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2024/01/12/taproot-wizards-bitcoin-ordinals-project-that-raised-75m-to-sell-quantum-cats-collection/

2024-01-12 13:05

The asset management giant may now be looking to list an equivalent product for ether, the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, as part of its ongoing journey toward tokenization. Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock (BLK), backed the notion of an ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) a day after the much-anticipated bitcoin (BTC) ETF went live. "I see value in having an Ethereum ETF,” Fink said in an interview with CNBC on Friday. "These are just stepping stones towards tokenization and I really do believe this is where we're going to be going." BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) was one of the several such products to make its trading debut in the U.S. on Thursday after the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) approved the funds on Wednesday. IBIT accounted for roughly $1 billion of the total $4.6 billion of trading volume that the ETFs collectively saw. The asset management giant may now be looking to list an equivalent product for the native token of the Ethereum blockchain as part of its ongoing journey toward tokenization. Tokenization is the term for representing assets (real word or digital) in the form of a token on the blockchain. Fink believes tokenization can eliminate matters related to money laundering and other corruption. Fink also said he did not see cryptocurrency as a currency but as an asset class, referring specifically to bitcoin as “an asset class that protects you” against fears of geopolitical risk. "It’s no different than what gold represented over thousands of years,” he said. "Unlike gold, we’re almost at the ceiling of the amount of bitcoin that can be created.” https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/01/12/blackrock-ceo-larry-fink-backs-ether-etf/

2024-01-12 11:56

After initially revealing their fees on Monday, several providers then reduced them spying the impending battle for market share that would ensue once the funds were approved Franklin Templeton reduced the fee of its bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) to become the cheapest amongst the new investment products, which debuted on U.S. exchanges on Thursday. San Mateo, California-headquartered Franklin Templeton has reduced the fee for its Bitcoin ETF (EZBC) from 0.29% to 0.19%, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday. Franklin Templeton's 10 basis-point reduction makes its fund's fee the lowest, replacing that of Bitwise, which charges 0.2%. Until Aug. 2, 2024, the fund manager will also waive off fees for its ETF till the fund reaches assets under management (AUM) of $10 billion. After initially revealing their fees on Monday, several providers then quickly reduced their fees in anticipation of the impending battle for market share that would start once the funds were approved. Bitcoin ETFs clocked up $4.6 billion in trading volume on Thursday, with Franklin Templeton accounting for around $65 million of the total figure. Read More: CoinShares Exercises Option to Buy Bitcoin ETF Provider Valkyrie to Add U.S. Arm https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/01/12/franklin-templetons-bitcoin-etf-now-the-cheapest-after-10-basis-point-reduction/

2024-01-12 10:57

CoinShares said the decision is a direct result of the SEC's approval for spot bitcoin ETF listings. Crypto asset manager CoinShares (CS) exercised its option to buy the exchange-traded fund (ETF) unit of Nashville, Tennessee-based Valkyrie Investments, adding a U.S. arm the day after spot bitcoin ETFs debuted in the country. CoinShares, based in Saint Helier, Jersey, secured the option on Valkyrie Funds in November and said on Friday the decision to exercise it was a direct result of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) approval of the listing of spot bitcoin ETFs, including Valkyrie's Bitcoin Fund (BRRR). The ETFs' debut on Thursday saw $4.6 billion notched up in trading volume, with BRRR accounting for $9.3 million. Bitcoin surged to over $49,000 briefly after the start of trading, then sank as low as $45,700 as the initial euphoria wore off. "Our expertise has enabled us to dominate the European market, commanding over 40% of all assets under management in crypto ETPs. Exercising our option to acquire Valkyrie Funds aims at extending our European success in the U.S.," CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti said in a statement. The acquisition will add around $110 million to CoinShares' existing assets under management (AUM) of $4.5 billion. As well as the newly approved spot fund, CoinShares gains the Bitcoin and Ether Strategy ETF (BTF) and the Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI). Financial terms for the acquisition, which is subject to satisfactory due diligence completion, were not disclosed. CoinShares' Nasdaq Stockholm-listed shares fell 1.83% to 40.15 Swedish krona ($3.91). Read More: Bitcoin ETFs Stir Optimism, Ambivalence and Dread Among Crypto's Staunchest Supporters https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/01/12/coinshares-exercises-option-to-buy-bitcoin-etf-provider-valkyrie-to-add-us-arm/